[Propertalk] Fwd: [propertalk.topic] Last sermon was blank- Sermon for Epiphany 3A

[joeparrish]

Forwarded - Part 1


Sent from my T-Mobile 4G LTE Device
-------- Original message --------From: Judy <judy_boli at ecunet.org> Date: 1/23/17  7:01 AM  (GMT-10:00) To: Propertalk <propertalk.topic at ecunet.org> Subject: [propertalk.topic] Last sermon was blank- Sermon for Epiphany 3A 
Sorry, Joe- we'll try again.  It preached well yesterday.  Hope yours did too.
Dear Friends, This Sunday’s sermon is entitled “They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love” or “Jesus Said: ‘FISH!’” and deals with all the lessons.  Here it is:  Do you remember the old Sunday school song: “I will make you fishers of men?”  This morning we heard where that song came from.  We heard Jesus call his first four disciples- Andrew, Peter, James, and John and tell them he would teach them to fish for people.  He calls us to do the same thing, not with first century methods- but with twenty-first century methods.  Many of our techniques may change- we use telephones and cars and vans and television and CD players, but one constant remains: LOVE!  Close to 100 years after Jesus died, the Roman Emperor Hadrian sent a man named Aristides to spy on Christians to see why they were growing so strong.  His answer has rung down through the ages: “Behold, how they love one another!”  Love is probably the most important Christian value that makes Jesus and the church attractive to people.  It’s our best evangelism tool.  Remember, Jesus gave us only one commandment: “You must love each other, just as I have loved you.  If you love each other, everyone will know that you are my disciples” (John 13:34-35).  So you can see that love (not just how they felt about each other, but how they treated each other) became the hallmark of Jesus’ followers, of the Christian Church…well- most of the Christian Church, because Paul’s church in Corinth had a real problem with love.   The reason Paul wrote the book of the Bible we call 1st Corinthians was because of this “love” problem.  The Corinthian Church was split into four cliques- four sides.  Three of these cliques were people who stuck together because of who baptized them.  The “Peter Group” was baptized by Peter.  What an honor to be baptized by someone who actually walked with Jesus.  The “Apollos Group” was baptized by Apollos- one of the greatest preachers of the early church.  What an honor to be baptized by someone who was so famous.  The “Paul Group” was baptized by our patron saint- the greatest missionary bishop the world has ever seen.  How wonderful to be baptized by such a devoted follower of Jesus!  Then there was the “Jesus Group”- not baptized by Jesus, but they considered themselves better followers of Jesus.  Why?  They spoke in tongues and thought they were better than everyone else.  Can you imagine inviting someone to the Corinthian Church?  They were not united by love- they were divided and arguing all the time- treating each other as enemies and not as Christian sisters and brothers.   Because of their backbiting and discord, we have some of the Bible’s best instruction in how God expects us to treat each other.  This is an easy sermon to preach at St. Paul’s, because we are really pretty good at getting along, not taking sides, and loving each other.  All we have to do is keep it this way.  Here’s how the Bible suggests we do this: PROBLEM: SOMETIMES WE WON’T AGREE WITH EACH OTHER ABOUT SOMETHING WE CONSIDER IMPORTANT.  Unity is not uniformity- we aren’t supposed to all be on the same page at the same time.  Further on in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians (chapter 12), he reminds them that we are all different and meant to be so.  He says “There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but they all come from the same Spirit.  There are different ways to serve the same LORD, and we can each do different things. Yet the same God works in all of us and helps us in everything we do….Together you are the Body of Christ.”  So when we disagree, what should we do?1)      Respect each other.  2)      Discuss the area of disagreement.  If you can come to consensus- great!  If not, agree to disagree3)      Don’t be territorial (my way or the highway!).  Who made you God?  Who made me God?  Don’t try to force your way on someone else.  Talk about it and give the Holy Spirit time to work in the other person’s heart or in your heart.  (You could be wrong too, you know.)4)      Remain Christian friends and pray for each other. PROBLEM: SOMETIMES WE WON’T APPROVE OF WHAT SOMEONE ELSE DOES.  We aren’t called to be our neighbor’s judge; we are called to be his or her Christian brother or sister.  Jesus is very clear on this (Matthew 7:1-4): “Don't condemn others, and God won't condemn you.  God will be as hard on you as you are on others! He will treat you exactly as you treat them.  You can see the speck in your friend's eye, but you don't notice the log in your own eye.   How can you say, ‘My friend, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you don't see the log in your own eye?  You're nothing but show-offs!  First, take the log out of your own eye. Then you can see how to take the speck out of your friend's eye.”  We all have our blind spots.  Unless you are perfect, don’t go looking for the sins of others.  Don’t be critical- be there for others, help them is possible, and pray for them. PROBLEM: SOMETIMES ANOTHER CHILD OF GOD MISTREATS US.  Jesus has clear directions for what we should do (Matthew 18: 15-17): “If one of my followers sins against you, go and point out what was wrong. But do it in private, just between the two of you. If that person listens, you have won back a follower.  But if that one refuses to listen, take along one or two others. The Scriptures teach that every complaint must be proven true by two or more witnesses.  If the follower refuses to listen to them, report the matter to the church. Anyone who refuses to listen to the church must be treated like an unbeliever or a tax collector.”  And how do we treat unbelievers or sinners?  Remember, Jesus said (Matthew 5: 44b), “Love your enemies and pray for anyone who mistreats you.” In other words- start by telling the pastor and together making a plan.  We pray for them and do our best to bring them to Jesus, because there, but for the grace of God.
[End of Part 1]For anyone who is interested, this sermon and updated African-American wisdom statements are posted on our parish’s web site under “Sermons & Stuff”. The address is: http://www.stpaulsepisag.org . Blessed preaching,Judy BoliSt. Paul's Episcopal ChurchSaginaw, Michiganl



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